Entirety of the Queen
by Syvelocin
Summary: (AU) Eighteen years have passed since the Evil Queen tried and failed to enact her curse. Every attempt at ruining Snow's happiness fails, until she hatches a plan. Regina invades the kingdom in an effort push the King and Queen to bargain with her for the sanctity of their kingdom. Her price for their surrender? The Princess Emma. A Swan Queen take on Rumbelle.
1. A Bargain

"Everyone, please! Settle down!" Charming demanded the sea of arguing citizens. His voice echoed as the noise diminished from shouts to grumbles to pure silence, the men and women eager to hear the direction of their King. He stood authoritatively in front of the people of his kingdom, legs grazing the velvet of his throne. Before he began his duties as the anchor for his people, he looked over to his Queen still sitting on the throne next to him and then to his daughter. Snow gave him a serious yet reassuring smile accompanied by a squeeze of his hand. His wife was a blessing in the flesh. As he was a crutch for hundreds, Snow deserved the credit, as she was the crutch for the king.

"We have to be civilized in times like these. Letting the Evil Queen break down the walls inside of us as well as our kingdom's physical ones is letting her win twice over. However bad this war may get, we can't give her that satisfaction. We must remain strong at heart if we ever want to see the war progress in our favor."

A few whispers broke out among the townsfolk. Although they trusted their King, a time when one of the greatest kingdoms in the lands did not come out victories was buried deep in their history, even before King Leopold's time. Things hadn't been this bleak since the curse the Evil Queen tried to enact almost eighteen years ago.

"Your Majesty," a small female voice sighed from the front. Charming turned to the Blue Fairy floating above the other members of the castle court. They ceased their own arguments at the sound of the great fairy's voice. "We have only a mere fifty knights that survived the Evil Queen's last invasion. Excuse me, your majesty, but shouldn't we be contemplating... surrender?"

Blue's final word escaped her mouth in almost a squeak and seemed to directly amplify the side discussions scattered throughout the hall. Charming shouted once more, reattaining their attention.

"Regina will show no mercy. At best, we must think of a new strategy to take a chance at winning this war. We have kept her imprisoned so long, the extent of her fury is like never before. If we surrender, she will merely have an easier time cutting down each and everyone of us."

The King felt Snow stir silently in her throne next to him. His head jerked in her direction, eyes laying on two narrowing green ones, however she didn't speak a word.

"That is all. I ask the court to join us at the round table in ten minute's time."

The castle guards all left their neat lines against the left and right walls to guide the townsfolk in an orderly fashion out of the reception hall. The King turned to his family as they stood up to head for the room where the court meetings were held. He allowed Snow to go ahead toward the door but before Emma could pass him, he slid an arm in front of her like a gate. Her blonde curls bounced as she ran into her father's arm.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked, raising his eyebrows expectedly. He heard his wife sigh deeply ahead, her heeled shoes signaling her retreat back to her husband and daughter.

"To the court," Emma said coolly, unaware of his reasoning to hinder the princess's involvement with the affairs of her kingdom. They had included her in these matters since she was fourteen to prepare her for her eventual assumption of the throne.

"This session will be a little more serious than usual. It may be a bit stressful for you to deal with.

"She's an adult, James," Snow said, laying a hand on her husband's shoulder. "She might as well be allowed to see not only the good involved with governing a kingdom, but what dark times bring as well."

He didn't speak or gesture affirmatively, but glanced between the two women and saw two Snows looking up at him pleadingly. He strode toward the door and the rest of his family followed into the court.

There, all the chairs except those belonging to the royal family were filled. The members of the court seemed to have already begun brainstorming without them and were already in each other's face, fighting about what their course of action should be.

"We will get no where like this," Charming said, commanding their attention once again. Once the round table was under his control, they sat down in the three remaining seats. "One at a time, present your ideas."

"We should fight fire with fire," Grumpy spoke up passionately. "I mean, what's the one thing we have now that we didn't have before? Emma's magic."

"Oh, no no no," the Queen said desperately. Concern grew into her eyes when she saw her daughter's face light up. Emma, after so long of being treated as a child, would jump at any opportunity now to help her people as her mother had always taught her to. But whenever she tried, they were more than eager to deny her.

And rightly so. Snow wasn't going to have any of it. She nearly lost her daughter when she had barely been born. If they hadn't captured the Evil Queen, she would have had to endure decades without her daughter. She wasn't about to risk that again. Even then, Snow did her best not to encourage Emma's magic. The family was well aware of its existence, but she feared the same sort of corruption that overtook Regina would grasp onto Emma and never let her go.

"Not going to happen. Next," Charming said quickly, drawing that opportunity to a close. Emma shrunk dejectedly in her chair.

Around the table, everyone was dead silent. What option was there? Everything they had tried had worked before, but now all their attempts were proving futile.

Finally, Blue spoke up. "I still stand by what I said earlier, your Majesty. No one else has to die."

"Who's to say she won't betray us like she has consistently in the past? Would it really be better to die at her mercy or go down with honor?"

"James," Snow said through clenched teeth. She worried his bluntness would frighten the teenager. The two looked between each other and their daughter who was trying to act brave despite her parents lack of faith in her leadership capabilities. She frowned at her mother and the issue was dropped for now.

Charming's eyes made circles around the table, resting on each and every member who only shook his head or shrugged.

"James," Snow said softer now. James turned to his wife. "Maybe a bargain is in order."

"A bargain?"

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"But what do we have that she could possibly want? Isn't this whole war about you, Snow?"

"We have to try," his wife insisted with a sad smile. He matched it with one of barely half its enthusiasm.

* * *

Princess Emma opened her eyes as the morning light peaked over the mountains and spilled into her room. She sat up groggily, having lost hours of sleep over the conflict ravaging her kingdom. Looking around the room she had been waking up in and retiring to every day for eighteen years, she almost got butterflies in her stomach when she realized what day it was, but they soon went away when she realized she had no right to a birthday. So many people had died just for the possibility of the royal family's comfort. Emma didn't understand how her parents could stand the guilt.

She shrugged her nightgown, not bothering to hang it up as always, to her mother's usual agitation. But now she figured she wouldn't mind. What was the point of changing her habits now, when they were going to lose the war anyway?

She put on a basic salmon gown sans corset and went to check her parents' room to find it empty and the bed yet to be made. She figured they were already in session and headed through the corridors until her path was blocked by one the big castle doors. Muffled voices vibrated through the wood. Emma pushed open the door and walked inside.

There was no court in session today, but her father and mother were talking together as they looked out the window. "It's completely ashen," Snow muttered to Charming, looking out to the forest beyond their walls. The forest floor matched the color of a distant storm cloud, a blanket of ash covering barren charred trees and even some of the market stands within the castle. They heard an abrupt "ahem" and they both turned to look at the new arrival. Snow's features swiftly jumped into a bright smile.

"Happy birthday, Emma," the queen sighed, shuffling toward her now adult daughter and taking her in an embrace. Emma returned only half a smile when they parted. "What's wrong?"

"Celebration would be wrong amongst the great suffering of the kingdom," she stated dejectedly. Snow pursed her lips and wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders, walking her toward the window.

"Just because we are in times of misfortune, doesn't mean you have to be depressed and reject all attempts at happiness. We can still do something fun, even if it isn't horseback riding or hunting. We'll celebrate, just the three of us tonight."

Emma gave an attempt at a better smile and her efforts seemed to have pleased her mother. Snow leaned over and kissed her adult daughter on the cheek, rubbing her back briefly before stepping away.

The King produced a two inch-wide scrap of parchment and a quill, sitting down to begin writing his request to the Evil Queen. At just the right time, a pigeon flew in from out the window and landed on the index finger of Snow's outstretched hand. The grey bird cocked his head repeatedly to either side as the queen's green eyes reflected in his beady black ones.

"Would you take a message to Regina for us?" Snow asked him, as if she honestly expected him to answer. The bird remained silent, nothing but his head moving still, however Snow seemed to get some kind of answer from him and smiled as she brought the pigeon perched on her finger over to her husband. Charming tied the note securely but gently to one of the bird's talons and he disembarked back out the window to complete his task. Once the bird was no longer visible, Snow's face fell.

"Let us hope Regina is in a generous mood today," she muttered, exchanging a glance with her treasured family.

* * *

Rain pattered against the window panes of the dining hall, setting the perfect mood for the evening. This was the backdrop for every family meal throughout the town, as every citizen was staying home tonight to spend time with their family in case the queen's plan backfired tomorrow.

The royal family sat all together at the head of the long table, but the only sound other than the rain was the frequent screeching of silverware against platters. The meal was more meager than usual, as hunting was risky with the Evil Queen's men about the forest outside their walls, so this bit of venison would have to do. The Queen and King weren't against making sacrifices for their kingdom, but the only objection they had was the small portion's reminder of the reason for their sacrifices.

As her parents tucked in to their dinner, Emma could do nothing but stab at the mean anxiously. When Snow noticed, she firmly put down her silverware and cleared her throat.

"Emma, please just eat the deer. The poor thing will thank you." Emma rolled her eyes at her mother and continued to fidget with the meat on her fork. Snow sighed deeply at her child's rebellion.

Their relationship wasn't always like this. Sure, Emma was comparatively a very well-behaved daughter, but she wasn't always as stubborn as the girl was now. She used to follow the standards her mother set for her as a girl, but when she hit her teen years she started thinking for herself. They still had a caring relationship, but it wasn't without its fair share of rocky terrain.

"You can tell us what's on your mind," Charming said between bites of his corn. Emma remained silent, avoiding her parents' gaze as long as possible before their laser stares seared her flesh and she could take it no longer.

"What do you think she will want?" She asked suddenly, never looking up from the rosy, medium-rare of her meat. Snow took a moment to think about her daughter's question, rather curious herself while still wanting to carefully choose her words in fear of worrying the princess on her birthday.

"I'm not sure. I'd need to know her reasoning for beginning this war. Otherwise it would be just guesswork."

Emma was pretty convinced her mother _did_ have an idea, but she wasn't going to squeeze it out of her. It upset her that her parents were so sensitive of her, but it really wasn't the night to push them on this.

"Hopefully it will be something material. Land, gold..." Charming trailed off into his food. Contrary to her father, Emma's interest was finally peaked in this discussion. If her parents would only let her display it, their daughter was, in fact, interested in the affairs of the kingdom. At least, when they had nothing to do with commerce or law-making. She set her fork down for the first time since she initially picked it up.

"But it would have to be something more valuable than what she would gain with the war, otherwise she'd ignore us, if she's planning on bargaining with us at all," Emma reasoned, looking her mother square in the eye. "The question is, what could possibly hold such value?"

"Emma..." The murky blue-grey from outside lit up her daughter's face eerily just then. It sent chills up the mother's spine but she shook it off.

Right on cue, a loud bang reverberated through the hall. The three shot up all at once, looking in the direction of the noise. The matriarch gasped loudly, although the father and daughter were silent, staring down the two-foot tall raven perched behind the glass on the middle windowsill. Between its beak, it clutched a sopping tube of ivory parchment tied with a plum ribbon.

* * *

**Don't worry, there will only be one chapter void of Regina. She comes in swiftly in the next chapter. R&R, it helps me gauge how much interest my idea has so I can write the next one faster! ;)**


	2. The Queen's Proposal

**Bear with me while I'm developing Emma. I'm trying to balance the changes she'd have if she was purely raised in FTL with her true personality. I do feel I have a good grasp of the others, but also there'll be a lot of change happening in Emma in the chapters to come anyway. **

**Thank you all for your reviews. Like I said, it really helps push me to write more. :) I'm planning on a chapter a day, though my summer class schedule may not always allow this.**

* * *

"What happened to the pigeon?" Emma wondered out loud, her brows furrowing at the giant bird of pitch. It wasn't so much the absence of the pigeon that worried her, like it probably worried her mother, but that raven took its place. She couldn't help but wonder if it was some sort of symbolism she'd probably be able to recognize if she payed more attention to her tutor.

The bird pecked viciously at the trellis, asking for entrance with a muffled croak.

Charming was the first to move. He approached the window cautiously and opened one side of the two-door window. The black bird hobbled inside, though remained perched on the stone window sill. The King's hand made a careful move for the note in the raven's mouth and succeeded, but not without getting bitten acutely on his index finger. At the sight of blood, he slipped his finger into his his mouth immediately as his left hand slid the purple ribbon off the note. Snow huddled next to her husband, but Emma preferred to stare at him expectedly.

"A bargain I can work with, Charming. We will meet to discuss the terms before the day is out," he read. Instantly, her mother's head fell into her hands. Her father crumpled the note in his fist and combed his hair back with the other. Emma was expecting him to read on, but that was all the note seemed to contain. It confused the Princess. It was way too simple, which meant it was probably the exact opposite. Either she didn't show it in the note or Regina simply was not surprised by how the headstrong king backed down.

* * *

The former queen paced the tiled floors of her palace bedroom anxiously. The dice had been rolled, her moves made. All that was left was to claim the prize. This is what it had all led up to: all the strategizing, invading, and fear inducement. There was never anything she did for no reason at all. Causing terror for no reason was called insanity, and a better term for Regina was "heartless." No, the burning of villages, destruction of towers—it all was for one singular purpose: to have the Charmings beg and plead for mercy.

And that's what they did, roughly. Regina would have preferred a little more grovelling, but regardless of how it went down, all that mattered was achieving what she set out to do.

"You seem to be getting a bit rusty." Regina stopped in her tracks, the final click of her heel bouncing off the stone walls. She whipped around to look at her trophy, the dear mirror on the wall trapped for all eternity, with an intense, burning glare.

"And what makes you say that?"

"Well, as your failures have accumulated, your goals have become less ambitious. Two decades ago your plan was to ruin everyone's happiness. After you were captured and escaped, you continued your previous attempts to kill the Queen for years to no avail, sometimes setting your sights on the King instead. And now you've resorted to kidnapping, by asking the parents' permission?" The former genie briefly sneered until her brown eyes narrowed. She stepped toward the golden-framed mirror like a lioness about to pounce, only stopping when she was inches from the glowing face behind the glass.

Truthfully, as much as the former genie got under her skin, Regina was fond of him. Never loved him, no, but respected him in that he was her last remaining friend. Of course, he was only here because all magic comes with a price, and not because he chose this fate, yet still the former queen valued his company immensely. Without him, she would be completely and utterly alone, having herself killed the dearest man to her heart for absolutely no reason in the end.

What she would never admit to was the man she manipulated, whom she had convinced of her false undying love, was now the only person she could rely on, and he could do nothing but speak to her.

"It's the only thing I've yet to try. Killing Snow White is overrated. Then she's simply dead, and that's not at all as entertaining as watching her squirm. What is more important to her than her prince charming? Her bundle of joy, the future of the kingdom."

"And you think the queen and king would hand her over willingly?"

"Of course not," Regina said, her infamous smirk creeping its way onto her features. "Hopefully, if she takes after her father at all, she'll be too stubborn to let her parents decide for her, playing directly into my hands."

"So your idea of revenge is having your nemesis' daughter polish your floors for the rest of her life?"

"Do you want me to shatter another one of your mirrors?" The Evil Queen's dagger eyes backed up her threat.

"What do I care? They belong to you," he countered, matching her death glare almost equally.

The stare-down was interrupted by the chiming of the grandfather clock against the wall. Her head turned to the side, eyes resting on the two black hands. Remembering the people who would be expecting her before the day was out, she erased her rage and gave the mirror a sickeningly sweet smile. "It's time for a house call." Regina turned on her heel, walking swiftly away from the mirror and enveloping herself in a purple cloud of smoke.

* * *

Once again, the Charming's found themselves in their reception hall, but now accompanied by few others. They had the princess sit back on her throne behind the King and Queen, much to her protestation, but while they knew she would need to be included in the matter, Snow also feared harm coming to her daughter. The last time Regina was in the same room as Emma was before she was even born, when the queen vowed to destroy their happiness.

Snow and Charming were linked at the hands and an array of guards stood off to the sidelines, ready should the need arise. The king figured she could come soon or take her time, but it wasn't like any of them had the peace of mind to be accomplishing other tasks at the moment. More than just their city limits were affected by the war.

The room was eerily quiet. No one took a step, readjusted the their stance, or spoke a word. The silence was deafening, caving into Emma's ears and filling them like cotton.

Every body in the room jerked upwards at the sudden "poof" of purple smoke that engulfed a three-foot wide section in the middle of the room. It circled upwards, filling the space, and when it cleared Snow's stomach fell as it always seemed to during interactions with her former stepmother. She would forever stand up to the queen and never back down, but whenever she saw her she couldn't help but be afraid of what she would do next.

"Regina," the queen addressed the former one, with nothing but a glance of her eyes.

Regina decided to be more polite, however, and addressed Snow with a nod of her head in addition to mimicking her curt hello. There was no trademark smile on the Evil Queen's face, no emotion at all, just a poker face that tied her stomach in knots.

Emma wanted to have the same reaction as her parents. She was sure they were justified, but she couldn't find it in herself. Regina was evil and wanted her mother's head; that was enough to fear the queen, but there was nothing else she could feel for her. People weren't black and white, which was one of the reasons life as Snow White and King James' daughter was more than a little agitating. The constant duality sent her head spinning. There were fewer differences between the reigning queen and the fallen queen than people seemed to believe. They were both human beings who took different paths, composed of varying shades of grey; White and black didn't exist.

Regina walked tight circles, surveying the attendees of the meeting. She spent extra time turned away from the royal family, chuckling at the guards near the door with their swords at the ready.

"How nice of you to prepare for my arrival, with such short notice" she said facetiously, turning back around to rest her eyes on the married couple. "It's almost as if we are a family again, with me coming to visit time to time."

"We never were family, Regina," Snow shook her head slowly as she denied her the right to say that. She relinquished that right the night she had Snow's father killed.

"Oh, it's heartbreaking to hear that," the Evil Queen, with obvious faux sadness.

And then the Queen noticed something: eighteen years had not aged her a day. While she and the King had their fair share of wear and tear from years of running a kingdom and raising a teenager, Regina was just as intact as she was in the Queen's memories. The dark magic that radiated from Regina almost made her want to vomit, hanging in the air like humidity in a rainforest.

"Get on with it," the King snarled, crossing his arms yet still staying right next to his family. "What is it that you want for your army's retreat?"

"Oh, we're making the assumption I've agreed to a bargain? Well, yes, I have. But you shall find my terms rather... specific."

Regina needed to draw this moment out. The more she could build up to her final offer, the more dramatic she imagined the reaction to be. This had nothing to do with the girl, but everything to do with her mother. It was about the gasps and tears when her offer was made, and the sleepless nights and sobs she'd later be able to watch through her mirror in the comfort of her own home. Then back at the Dark Palace, the child of the woman she most despised would be forced to do whatever she bid her to with absolutely no choice. Honestly, the former queen wondered why she hadn't thought of this sooner.

"Anything," Snow stated, features unwavering. Every pair of eyes fell on the Queen. "Just end the bloodshed." Snow's jaw finally quivered when Regina's slowly growing smirk stretched to her cheeks.

Again, she kept the King and Queen waiting, now choosing to prowl a circular motion once more. This time, she stopped when she was on the other side of the couple. Her eyes fell on the princess Emma, anticipation climaxing in her gut. This was the first time she had more than caught a glimpse of the princess since she was born, and she was the perfect product of True Love. She inherited the natural curls of her mother, tinted flaxen by the father, but otherwise the girl brought painful memories of her marriage to King Leopold. She bore a striking resemblance to Snow, and for a moment Regina almost lost her composure.

Shrugging back her thoughts, she looked back to Snow and Charming who were intently watching her every move, bating their own.

"What do you want?" the King stated more than asked. The former queen had finally left the room in suspense long enough that it was time to pull the trigger.

"I have but one price, and should it be paid, the kingdom will come through with no further destruction. But this is not a bargain, it is my one proposal. Refuse, and I will tear your kingdom to the ground.

"I require the Princess." _One, two..._

Snow inhaled sharply and the color drained from Charming's face. Instantly, he jumped in front of her daughter's throne, separating the Princess from Regina.

Emma felt as if she had swallowed a twenty-pound weight. Her parents' intentions were immediately of refusal, but Emma only saw selfishness in their reactions. How could they refuse to trade one life for hundreds? Wasn't running a kingdom about sacrifice? Or was government in actuality about hypocrisy?

"This is your one offer?" Emma asked confidently, swallowing down her fears and uncertainties. She would be looking the former queen straight in the eye if her father would allow her to.

"_Emma!_" Snow shouted, louder than she ever had at her daughter. Her eyes threatened to jump out of their sockets, and similarly, her father whipped quickly around to study his daughter's features.

"My one and only." Regina figured she'd be a terrible gambler, as she so easily lost the cool composure she put on.

"No way," the King said finally, only to his daughter. "You will not do this."

The King wasn't about to let this happen. They had come so close to losing their daughter before, he surely wasn't going to let it get close to that. A princess was the shining light of her kingdom. She was the future, hope to everyone, including the King and Queen. She was way too valuable to the kingdom as a whole.

Emma wasn't having it either, but in contrast, she wouldn't allow her parents to make the decision. She was at the age of consent. They had no control over her, or rather, less than they used to as they were still the King and Queen. Still, this decision was hers to make, and hers alone.

"How can you say that?" Emma asked, unbelieving. She shot up from her throne so she was as level as possible with her father. She regretted it fiercely, but she began letting the emotion creep into her voice. "You're going to let more people die, possibly even you, too, instead of making a sacrifice for your kingdom?"

"What does the kingdom have to look for if it doesn't have you?"

"Will the kingdom even have a chance to look forward to something if I refuse?" she practically yelled. Emma stopped to allow her father to answer, but when he was left speechless scanning the green eyes of his daughter, she weaved around her parents to have a clear view of Regina.

"Yes." It came out much less powerful than she intended, but the look in the Evil Queen's eyes told her she heard all she needed to hear out of the blonde.

"Emma."

"Yes," she repeated to her mother through clenched teeth. Their attempts at reasoning with their daughter were increasingly futile. With a glance at her husband, Snow turned back around to Regina, a silent tear rolling down her cheek.

"Will she remained unharmed?" Snow choked, wrapping her arms around herself. "Can you assure me of that?" Regina sighed with an expanded roll of her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I will not directly or indirectly cause her fatality or grave injury. I cannot promise you she won't break a nail or something."

Satisfied as she'd ever be with the answer, Snow glanced at Emma before her eyes fell on her husband.

"You aren't seriously considering letting her go..."

"We have taught her well, James," Snow said through shaky breaths. "Either of us would do exactly the same. What message does that send?"

The King expelled a large amount of air through his nose, crossed his arms again as he rolled thoughts around in his brain, but suddenly he extracted his sword from its sheath and pressed it to Regina's throat. The witch only flashed him a toothy grin.

"If harm comes to her, I swear you will not live to see another morning," he growled under his breath.

"Fine by me."

The King jerked his head in the direction of the doors and wrapped his arm around his daughter as they left, He turned around once more to shoot a dirty look to the more than satisfied customer. Regina returned it with a boasting smirk.


	3. The Widow's Web

**Sorry for the timing, essays and holidays and blegh! I have a three-day weekend though, so I'll try to make up for it!**

* * *

Charming shut the door firmly behind them and leaned against the stone wall half-way down the corridor. He could no longer stand straight for a great weight was burdening him. The two women followed, Snow standing close by with her arms pulled as tightly around her torso as she could manage.

"You're sure about this?" the King asked his daughter. There was no going back if they moved forward with Emma's decision. Even if Emma changed her mind, there was nothing they could do to get their daughter back, and that was what was gnawing at the couple's hearts. Charming didn't know what would be worse than allowing Regina to win the battle and take over the kingdom, but he imagined if they went back on their agreement, her wrath would be what nightmares are made of. And above all, he would never willingly anger the Evil Queen while his daughter's life was in her hands.

"What choice do I have?" Emma asked, tears streaming down her face as she was now free from the gaze of those dark eyes. "I'm done. I'm done sitting down when I should be standing up." Snow removed her arms from around herself and cupped her daughter's shoulders firmly.

"I understand where that thought comes from. We just want to make sure you know we would never force you into something like this." She paused when her breathing hitched in her throat. "And we don't expect you to. You have a choice. You always have a choice. But in your heart, it is the only only right one."

"So you're just allowing me to go?"

"We won't hold you back. Right, James?" Snow glanced at her crossed-arm husband who replied with a terse nod. Silence fell among the family. There was nothing more to say, and Snow knew what happened next.

"You... you better go back..." Snow pointed behind Emma, to the door back into the reception hall, "back in." Emma pursed her lips before turning her back on her parents. Snow pushed the door open for her daughter and kept it open. She wanted Emma to face Regina herself, realizing she had long been a grown woman even before her birthday, but stood in the doorway simply because she didn't want her alone with the Evil Queen for longer than she had to be.

Emma looked at her feet with each step, until she stopped a good six feet from Regina, took a deep breath, and looked straight into the witch's brown eyes.

"Well? Did your dearest parents talk you out of it?" Emma didn't know what to think about that deceiving smile of hers. It was bright enough that on anyone else, it could be sincere. On Regina, it could also be a smile of twisted satisfaction.

"No. I will go," the Princess stated undauntedly. She was going through with this, and any weakness Emma could show in front of Regina may be used against her later. She had to convince her keeper she was too strong to be reckoned with. How convincing she ended up being, she did not know.

"Brilliant. I will arrange transportation for you mid morning tomorrow." The Evil Queen turned, about to envelop herself in a cloud of smoke, but was interrupted before she could produce more than a wisp of violet.

"Wait, am I to bring anything? My wardrobe, my—?"

"You won't be needing anything, dear." Emma shivered hearing the term of endearment from Regina. It felt wrong. Such words were left traditionally for a family, friend, or lover to say. As she was none of the above to the blonde, the word shouldn't even be leaving the sanguine lips of the witch.

Regina saw the distress she had caused and flashed the Princess a grin before conjuring the rest of her smoke, which spun and twisted as it enveloped her.

* * *

The night before her departure held a fitful slumber for Emma. Every time she tried to go back to sleep, she saw two espresso eyes bordered by defined eyebrows mocking her. Behind her eyelids, full lips grinned wickedly, imagining all that would transpire upon the Princess' arrival. As such, she went through her morning routine lethargically. Her head was only half defogged by the time her mother had called her name five times.

Emma looked up and she was in the dining hall. All the food on her plate was completely cut up into tiny pieces and shifted about, although none had been consumed.

"Are you alright?" Snow asked, an additional dose of concern infecting her features.

Emma hesitated for a moment, closing her eyes and willing her mind to clear, before shaking her head affirmatively.

"I'll send you a pigeon tonight. I want you to write back, so we know you are alright. If she ever hurts you, you can tell us. You should tell us."

Emma believed that to be too risky, to send word if Regina was going back on her promise to the King and Queen. But she nodded anyway, knowing it would make her mother happy.

The Princess closed her eyes again, and suddenly she was being embraced from behind. She turned around in her mother's arms and hooked onto her shoulders. They stayed like that for a period of time Emma couldn't keep track of, until her mother's face moved to her ear.

"I love you," she choked out, stroking her daughter's wavy locks. A tear spilled out over Emma's lower eyelid and soaked into the shoulder of the Queen's white gown.

"I love you, too, mom."

When Snow had finally let go, Charming was already at her side to take her place. Her father's arms took the position under his daughter's arms as she wrapped hers around his neck. He placed a kiss on her cheek and stood up again.

Emma flinched when a familiar screen of purple drifted in front of her, identical to Regina's smoke. But as her mother gasped sharply, she realized it wasn't the Evil Queen arriving but herself leaving.

"Emma!" Snow yelled, grabbing frantically through the smoke, but it was already too thick. "Regina, that was not goodbye!" The reigning queen didn't even know if she could hear her, but her first instinct was to yell back. She was supposed to have until mid-morning with her daughter, and she was being pulled from her grasp prematurely. Snow was far from ready to say goodbye. "Regina!"

The smoke started to thin, but where Emma's body once was, there was only hollow space.

* * *

As she regained her vision Emma found herself in a grand entrance hall of high-arching ceilings and dark grey stone walls with intricate, branch-like patterns. The room was more architecture and less interior décor, except for several mirrors placed on every wall, each with a varying shape and frame style. She approached one in particular: a circular glass with a strange web of iron tentacles curling outward.

"Find everything to your liking?"

It was a voice half of velvet and half of nails. A voice that could probably otherwise lull a baby to sleep, but there were also malevolent undertones that bounced off the walls of her skull.

Emma spun around on her toes. Regina was in front of a door at the far side of the room, looking her prize up and down. The Princess said nothing.

"Oh, don't be like that. You're unlikely to see many other people for the rest of your life, you might as well get comfortable with me," she said, the same polarity coming across in her smile. She approached Emma, each step clicking with authority.

Of all the stories she heard from her parents, Regina dressed exactly how she'd imagine a villainess to dress, down to the padded shoulders of her cascading frock and the grand, ornate collar encircling her neck. Although, she wasn't one of the lesser evils of the land like Maleficent, she was the Evil Queen Regina, a history that was buried in her mother's blood.

"Let's get some things straight: I'm here for my kingdom, and for my parents. I have no inkling of what you would ever want with me if you don't wish to kill me, but whatever it is just know that is my only intention. I will never be comfortable here." Emma tried to thread venom into her words, but she didn't quite have the right fangs for the job like the black widow did.

"That's unfortunate. Don't shut off your mind so, you might just come to find my palace has a certain charm. And I promise there is worse company to keep than even me."

"Really? I'd prefer a mountain troll," Emma snarled. That time, the venom flowed freely. The Princess was afraid she had been too shrewd for her own good as the former queen's smile dropped in a clock tick. But soon, a new, sly smirk took its place.

"Would you like to see your room?" The Evil Queen's tone was like lemonade. No matter how much sugar you put into it, there was still that sharp acidic aftertaste.

Emma nodded rigidly, and with one last soul-penetrating look, she turned around and led the Princess down a hallway, a flight of spiraled stairs, and a second hallway. Her confusion grew as her captor stopped in front of a large, black door with a rectangular window at eye-level. Before she could put two and two together, the Evil Queen yanked the old door open, grasped her by the back of her dress and shoved her down onto the dust-blanketed floor of her "room."

Emma pulled herself up so she could look at Regina. She had already closed the heavy door and was chuckling softly from the other side. The last things the Princess saw were the very same piercing eyes looking at her from the only window in the room, before the light was blinked out with a metallic thud.

* * *

While the Princess evidently thought different, Regina was rather content with how their first encounter went. Especially so when she saw a fire in the blonde that was quite unlike her former step-daughter's. It was defiant, adamant, and most of all refreshing. It was looking like she could use the circumstances for something else other than to spite the Queen. At the least, this arrangement would be entertaining, but at the most, Regina hoped to seed something deep within the girl while her head was still developing. In time, she was optimistic she could utilize that intensity to her own advantage, but for now she would have to make do with that fire being directed towards herself.

Several hours had elapsed since she had shown Emma to her room. She wanted to keep her in there long enough so Regina could put her point across, but short enough so her new trophy could get swiftly accustomed to the arrangement. After all, she wasn't going to just have the girl take up space; she'd have to earn her place in the palace.

When she figured it had been long enough, the former queen made her way down to the dungeons and into Emma's cell. The blonde looked up, blinking through the sudden mote of candlelight pouring in.

"Are you ready to cooperate now?" Regina asked, as sweetly as a fairy would ask a princess for her wish. Without meeting her gaze, the girl nodded and stood up, pushing past the Evil Queen to leave her room.

A wave of déjà-vu rushed through Regina's veins then—a tsunami of terrible memories. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but she almost felt a tinge of guilt to be acting the same way Cora had to a Regina of Emma's same age. Punishment until the girl was forced to obey. She pushed those thoughts straight into the back of the drawer and closed it and the door behind them.

Regina took the lead and walked the Princess up into a dining hall rather similar to the one at Emma's old home, although not quite so sparkling white as the Charmings would characteristically choose. The long, mahogany table was completely cleared except for a spot at the head of the table with an elaborate set of silver dinnerware in waiting between meals.

She went instead to a upholstered chair against the wall of the dining room, grasping a pile of linens and cleaning utensils and dropping them into Emma's arms.

"All very standard chores," Regina said, looking at the pile and then matching the Princess' gaze. "Windows, floors, dusting, laundry. Brush the carpets, beat the curtains, polish the silver, wipe the mirrors. And wash the blood off the hearts I collect."

Two green orbs grew in size, questioning her seriousness. The Evil Queen chuckled, enjoying the reaction she elicited.

"I'm jesting. They're enchanted, they don't have to be cleaned, silly girl." Regina saw that momentary relief before even more confusion arrested the Princess' features. "Do them in your own order, I don't mind, as long as I don't find you sleeping on the job. You have a week for the whole palace, then you start doing it again. You shall skip my bedroom and ignore the dungeons. Any questions?"

"C-could you write that down?" the girl asked, looking at Regina from around the pile of linens. She had heard the Princess loud and clear, but by "any questions," she meant questions about the process of her house keeping, and not questions relating to her inability to memorize verbal instructions.

"No? Good. I'll let you get on with it, then." She strutted away from the girl, closing the grand doors behind her and leaving the blonde to her new duties.

* * *

**That one ended a bit uneventfully, but I wanted chapter four to be primarily Emma's first day and exploring the palace. Everyone who reviews gets a hug :3**


	4. Invitation to Dinner

**Guest: If you had an account, I would reply and hug you directly, but for now: *hugs all around!* And I don't know if my one guest is the same guest, but yes! Pants are coming, Emma just isn't at her last thread (no pun intended) yet.**

* * *

Emma couldn't fully process the last few minutes with Regina, so she just stopped trying and sighed deeply. As she sorted through her supplies, her heart and mind fought a never-ending war. Her mind would say this was a load of nonsense and she should stand up to the Evil Queen, but then her heart would argue there's a reason she was here, and to risk being too defiant would mean she had sacrificed fruitlessly.

A strange tingling shot through her limbs suddenly. Her heart started thumping like a horse's hooves at a gallop, feeling the familiar magic penetrate her. When it left, nothing was different, except her gown had been replaced with peasant's robes and an apron. This time, her sigh expelled a great amount of aggravation. Of course Regina didn't just want another maid, she wanted to humiliate her as well. It wasn't specifically the clothing, it was every little thing she did to break her down.

Next to the chair was an already-filled water bucket that she grabbed along with the mop. She dunked the mop in the water and began scrubbing the floors grudgingly.

Emma would laugh should she be anywhere but here, at how she had barely known the Evil Queen personally and she was already filled with contempt for her. Before yesterday, she had just been an ever-looming presence the Princess had barely felt first-hand, like folk tales of demons told to children to make them behave. Regina's most ambitious schemes had all been conducted when she was much too young to get tangled in these affairs. Despite her anger, she was intrigued to know where and what that pinch of light was within the Evil Queen. Her mother knew Regina when there was still good in her, but now claimed she would never change. Emma had no clue of the latter, but everyone had good and evil in them.

If anything could come of her predicament, she wished it would be to discover if the Evil Queen was truly everything the kingdom thought she was.

When she kept her mind occupied, Emma found the chores were actually quick and therapeutic. She didn't usually have to do much but brush her horse and clean his stall. While she'd rather be done with it, the less she complained to herself, the better it became. She had finally come to the opposite end of the dining room and stopped to check over her work.

She was at a loss of what to do after the dining room, however. The palace was like a maze since she wasn't at all familiar with it. Emma peeked her head out both of the doors in the room to see two long corridors either way, so she chose one randomly and carried her bucket and mop out at her side.

Inching her way down the hallway, Emma mopped in zigzags, sometimes jerking the mop away from long tables topped with vases so narrowly the pot would already be tipping. This corridor in particular was straight in one direction with no doors but the one she entered through and a second door at the very end.

With little other choice, she walked through the new door to a dead end of a large, circular room covered frame-to-frame with more mirrors than her own castle probably contained in all. They were outlined in gold, black-finished wood, iron, and were all sorts of ovals and rectangles and even some in between. Either the former queen was incredulously vain or did something magical with them the Princess didn't want to think about.

Then, a low, graveled voice ran out through the room. "I see Her Majesty has given you a warm welcome."

Emma's head whipped around, curls bouncing against her side. The corridor she had come from was empty as well as the octagon room. Her eyes circled around until they finally caught a blue glow. She locked onto a disembodied head in one particularly large mirror.

"Who are you?" the Princess asked warily, although stepped closer to the face.

"What do I look like to you?"

"A magical mirror?"

"Then you have answered your own question, Your Highness," the magic mirror said with a smirk.

While she knew well there was magic inside herself, Emma was very unaware of how to use it and as such she had been purposefully sheltered from it. She would ask her mother what was so bad about magic and she would only say, "It isn't the magic, it's the potential it has to corrupt." Sure, there were a lot of foes of the kingdom who used magic for destruction, but the Princess would argue magic was all the fairies thrived on. Still, the Princess remained unfamiliar and her magic untapped, so suddenly being exposed to it was overwhelming.

"Friend or foe?"

"Neither, and both. But it matters not. I can't do much at all in my state, so even if I was a foe, you would have nothing to fear." Somehow, this mirror possessed the skills to speak convincingly that Regina didn't, or at least she had never persuaded the blonde otherwise.

"Were you always a mirror?" Emma asked, now four feet from the warm, yet ghostly face behind the glass.

"No, but involvement with Regina and recklessness on my part landed me here. And I'm not a mirror, I'm trapped behind one. I can jump to any mirror within this palace. Like from here," he paused, as the blue light was extinguished and the mirror returned to its original state, "to here." Emma's head followed in the direction of his voice to a small, wooden-framed mirror near the door.

"So you could spy on anyone in the palace, say, the queen?" Emma remarked, touching her reflection in a mirror at eye level. The smoky face appeared in front of her and her heart skipped a beat.

"And why would you want to do that?" the mirror chided, narrowing his eyes.

"It's a hypothetical question." His eyes searched hers for any intent, but there was none really. She was gathering information. Even if the magic mirror would do so for the Princess, she would be afraid of what would be found out by spying on Regina.

"Should I not be seen, yes, it would be possible," he said finally, ending that source of intel and beginning a period of silence.

"You never answered my question. Not fully."

"The details are for another day, if ever. Her Majesty would frown upon me speaking ill of her actions. Not like that has stopped me in the past."

Although the mirror wasn't overly friendly with the Princess, she felt like she could sympathize with him. They were both trapped in the palace by the Evil Queen, although she had only just arrived and the mirror had probably been there much longer.

"So are you allied with the queen?" Emma asked, sitting before the mirror with her legs crossed. She could have swore the tiniest sliver of a smile surfaced.

"Like I said, neither and both a friend or foe. The only reason I'm concerned with her matters is because I have little else to do and few others to speak to. I am not from this land. It is not for me to take sides, so I'm neutral, which is something you probably couldn't understand."

"I can," the Princess insisted, looking straight into his projected eyes. "I don't get why we are constantly at war. If we just coexisted, calling neither side good or evil and just going our separate ways, there'd be a lot less death an a lot more productivity."

The mirror let out a long, sad chuckle. "You'd probably be the best queen the land has ever seen, if you were to ever escape Her Majesty's grasp. Few royals are so ambiguous about politics."

She appreciated the compliment, but similarly, she could only give him a troubled smile. As another silence fell between the two caged birds, Emma remembered what she should be doing in that moment.

"Oh no, she'll be furious if she catches me!" she cried, shooting up from the ground, hurriedly grabbing her cleaning utensils, and running out the door.

"Your Highness!" the mirror shouted back, appearing on the wall of the hallway. "Avoid the mirrors."

"What?"

"The mirrors. They are her eyes." The Princess cringed at his words. Could he have phrased that any more eerily? The Princess didn't need the nightmare fuel provided with only Regina's own unforgiving eyes, let alone the new knowledge that every-single mirror was one as well. She gained her composure again and nodded hastily.

* * *

As Emma mopped, she drew a mental map of the palace. Being in an unknown geographical location inside a monstrous palace evoked a great deal of anxiety. From the dining hall she found the entrance hall, and after washing those floors, she discovered this level of the castle was almost a triangle, with the spire towering up from the center. She moved with more confidence than she had before as she finished up the ground floor; this wasn't as abysmally endless as she thought it was.

Regina had been watching the girl at the right moment and noticed she had ceased her work. The Evil Queen cared not for her cleaning abilities; she had a wide array of staff to take care of that. She had the girl clean to keep her occupied, and have her serve her mother's enemy for revenge. What caught her attention was she had begun wandering aimlessly about the palace instead of moving along to the next chore.

Regina turned away from her mirror and strutted her way down the tower stairs. She found the blonde studying a tapestry with neither a broom nor a mop in her hands.

"Everything alright?" she asked impatiently, resting her hands on her hips. She had startled the Princess, who flipped about wide-eyed and nervous.

"Umm. I completed the mopping, and..." Emma gulped, raising her head higher, "and I figured I could take some time out." What did the girl think this was? A volunteer soup kitchen? Regina owned her. She was her bargaining ticket, her upper hand, her revenge. When did the Evil Queen ever say she could take a break?

"Fine. If that's how you feel, you may go to your room now to rest." Regina excused herself from the conversation, striding away from the Princess as if she was but a whisper in the wind. Emma ran after her and cut her off from door.

"Excuse me?" the Princess enunciated, green meeting brown in battle. "I _may_ go to my room? You are not to speak to me as if you're my mother, because you are the _furthest_ thing from one." Regina all but fumed at the ears, giving the girl an incendiary glance. She produced a scowl to hide hurt. _Furthest thing from a mother. _It was not the speaker herself who caused the pain, but the words she chose that attacked a secret desire in her heart.

"How dare you! You accepted my terms, now you will obey. Go!" the Evil Queen demanded, her arm lashing out in the direction of the dungeon. Emma pushed past her, making sure to bump roughly into her side, causing an unmatchable rage to bubble in the pit of Regina's stomach

"Let her go, Your Majesty," the mirror advised from behind her. She didn't even turn around.

"If I grow soft, she will think she can do whatever she'd like and get away with it."

"If you grow soft, she won't be so defiant towards you." She remained silent, mentally cursing the once genie's truth. But Regina didn't argue to discover reason, she argued to win, to exert her authority. "Would you like my advice?"

"No," she spat, still with her back toward the mirror. He moved to a mirror perpendicular to her since she refused to face him.

"Invite her to dinner." The Evil Queen cackled at his equivocal request. "Do what you wish, but the only way you will ever be able to make progress with her is showing her your only goal isn't to abuse her."

"Seriously? You think I would even begin to consider dining with the offspring of my worst nemesis?"

"Exactly. The offspring, and not the Queen herself. Two completely different people." Regina could not believe what she was hearing, regardless of the fact he probably had a better idea than any she had come up with. Regina finally faced him.

"And what do you suppose I do next? Knit her a sweater?" she griped. The mirror gave up and pursed his lips, fading from view. Regina clenched her jaw to avoid yelling pointlessly after him.

* * *

Emma sat in the corner of the cell, hugging her knees to her chest and digging white crescent moons into her shins. Wasn't it enough to be doing busy work for the rest of her time at the palace? Why did the former queen have to act so repulsively? At the very least, if Regina owned her, she was still not her mother. She would take orders but she would not tolerate being incessantly nagged and chastised like a _child._ Her own parents didn't even treat her as young as her captor did.

The blonde contemplated whether this was the worst of all the days to come or only the prelude.

A soft cooing came out of nowhere. Emma was startled by the flapping of wings and a white pigeon perching between the bars of the window on her door, with a small piece of rolled parchment tied to its talon. The pigeon jumped down, using its wings as a parachute and began strutting in front of the Princess.

Emma untied the parcel from his foot and anxiously unrolled it. Scribbled across the scrap was an undated, unsigned "Are you okay?" Usually, she would roll her eyes at her parents' concern, but now she was just happy to receive correspondence. She would answer, but she had no access to a quill and inkwell, so she folded up the parchment and shoved it into a small slot between the stone bricks in the wall. The pigeon nested in the bed of straw and settled in the corner opposite Emma closest to the door, patiently awaiting another message to deliver.

The girl guessed about half an hour later, she began hearing a familiar clicking getting louder and louder before stopping in front of her door. There were ten beats of unbroken silence.

"Emma?" Regina's voice was phenomenally different now as she spoke her name. It was softer, but even then void of all emotion. She had yet to enter the cell, but instead stooped to rapping several times on the heavy wood and iron door. In her surprise, Emma had almost forgotten to answer.

She got up and approached the door, standing to the left so the door wouldn't hit her. "Yes?" The door opened slowly, revealing Regina outlined in dim candlelight. She had forgone her royal dress for for a simpler, midnight-blue velvet piece. Her face was expressionless, except for her tightened crimson lips and relaxed gaze. Uncharacteristically, the Evil Queen's eyes refused to meet her prisoner's.

"Would you like some dinner?" she asked flatly, still looking at every other place in the corridor. Emma was taken aback. Regina had expressed such anger only an hour or so before, and suddenly Emma was being invited to dine with her? She would have outright denied the request had it not been so curious.

"Why the sudden change?"

"Don't question it, just accept." Although she was still telling the girl what to do, it was less insistent, and that alone was enough for Emma to speechlessly follow her out of the cell.


	5. A Chink in Her Armor

**Just want to let you know, in contrast to the first day which is spread out among a few chapters to give the idea for a day in Regina's palace, we start jumping around a bit this chapter. And Graham's name is Graham too because somehow Regina owns his heart but doesn't call him any other name but "huntsman."**

**Next chapter might not come until tomorrow evening. Don't get used to my weekend morning posts :P**

* * *

The trek up to the dining room was unbelievably quiet; nothing but their footsteps up the spiral staircase made a sound. Inside, every candelabra was lit including the ceiling chandelier. There were two sets of dinnerware now: the one originally set out for the mistress of the palace and a new one on the other end of the long table.

Regina turned on her heels and looked the Princess up and down. "You didn't think to dress up for your meal with the _Evil Queen?_" she questioned, emphasizing her given title. She gave Emma a little smirk before magicking her a yellow, sleeved princess dress.

The dinner, she could live with. The constant 'poofing' of her clothing she could do without. Emma inwardly sighed at her choice, but she chose not to press the topic. This was an occasion the girl believed would be rare, so she wasn't too keen on angering her and getting sent back to her cell without a meal.

Emma waited for the brunette's move before sitting down herself. She guessed all the food had been laid out so the servants of the palace were out of sight at all times. The Princess preferred a more personal approach with her staff, but that was where their views probably clashed.

She was entirely too nervous to make any sort of move for her food. It always felt like she was walking across a floor made purely of eggshells when she was around the Evil Queen. However small a step it was, she didn't want to risk breaking one. She took a long sip from her water goblet until Regina had began cutting her meat.

The food was exquisite, better than anything she ever had back at the castle. And what the castle staff served was rather high-quality meals, so Emma wanted to attribute it to magic. She had no protestations however; the Princess believed magic should widely be used by those who wouldn't abuse it.

The silence was excruciating. It was just the two women, each taking a slow bite and watching the other as she chewed. The dinner was awkward at best, so much so Emma imagined she would prefer to eat in the gloom of her cell.

Regina had many words threatening to pour from her mouth, the most sickening of which was surprisingly the word "sorry." Under no circumstances did the Evil Queen apologize. "I'm sorry," was not a mouth formation her muscles remembered how to make. Why did she all of a sudden feel guilt for her behavior? She was officially losing her mind.

To avoid any regretful outbursts, Regina prompted the girl to do the talking. "So, are we going to partake in light conversation like two royals dining together would?" She immediately slipped another bite into her mouth.

So Emma's status varied according to the Evil Queen's mood. When she wished for embarrassment of the girl, Emma was a peasant, and when it pleased her, Emma was a royal again. She was changing the terms of the game without notifying the other party. Regina's mood swings were giving her whiplash.

"Umm, uh," Emma filled, having been put on the spot so suddenly. The brunette kept drawing out her chews, waiting expectedly. "How's the weather?"

Regina looked at her as if she had turned into a purple donkey. "Really?"

"It's an honest question. Forgive me if I'm assuming, but I'd imagine I'm not allowed to leave so the weather would be a great topic given I don't know what it is."

Regina's facial features still showed it was the wrong answer, but she relaxed slightly and answered, "Overcast."

"Full grey cloud layer or sparse or—?"  
"Another topic," the Evil Queen insisted, watching the blonde intently over her chalice.

"Am I? Forbidden to go on the palace grounds?" Emma asked. Regina pursed her lips. The answer was evidently complicated, which was a good thing she guessed.

"For now. If you show me you are trustworthy, you may sweep the pine needles from the terrace." Although it foretold more chores for the girl, she couldn't help but grin. So there was advancement in the Evil Queen's head. She wasn't stationary at the level of "the Queen's daughter held prisoner," and that was the best news she had heard all day. Emma again had the urge to ask her what had changed her mind, but Regina didn't seem the type to discuss emotions even with people close to her.

Surprisingly enough, the corners of the brunette's full lips turned upward in a smile that for once had no double-meanings or ill-intent. Maybe it was being so used to the taunting smirks, but Emma found it was actually a beautiful smile on Regina. It was a shame few had probably ever seen it.

Another silence fell and Emma felt obligated to fill it. As their meal came to a close, she had increasingly wanted to thank her, but the Princess wasn't that easily swayed. She wouldn't be able to thank Regina, definitely not after today, but she came up with a way to say it without betraying her morals.

"I-I appreciate it. This," she said, eyes taking turns staring at the table and daring to take on Regina. "The meal was excellent."

Regina didn't know how to respond without making herself look softer than she seemed as of now. She had already created enough of a security breach letting her walls down as much as she had tonight. Words rolled through her brain from which she picked and chose to make one carefully constructed sentence.

"It is satisfying to hear that you enjoyed it."

A few moments later, Emma followed her lead as Regina pulled her linen napkin from her lap and placed it onto the table. She then approached the Princess, and Emma stood so their eyes were level.

"I will show you to your room," the Evil Queen stated. She figured she could find her room just fine, but still followed Regina to the spiral staircase. Her brows knitted furiously as the brunette began ascending the staircase instead of descending it.

"Where are we going?" Emma asked, confusion plastered on her face. The former queen stopped her climb and looked down at the blonde.

"Your room. Must I reiterate myself? Don't question it, just accept." Emma ran up the stairs to catch up. This time, she didn't even have a question surface in her mind. This she would accept unconditionally, should Regina be hinting at what she thought she was.

Regina stopped at the second floor up the tower and gestured for Emma to go inside the door. She obeyed, and was instantly met with much more pleasing scenery, although it was characteristically just as dark as the rest of the palace. The four-poster bed was made with slate grey sheets matching the drawn curtains, all tied in with a monochromatic rug in a vine-like pattern. In the wall opposite the bed was a sizable fireplace the witch proceeded to light with magic, along with several floor candlesticks around the room.

By the time Emma had turned around, the door had closed behind her, but there weren't any footsteps leading away from the door yet. Instead, she heard the ruffling of paper, and a segment of parchment slid under her door. Regina began descending the stairs as Emma grabbed the paper up from off the floor.

She smirked and shook her head as she recognized what it was: a complete list of her chores in great detail, supplementing every gap in Emma's memory from earlier that day.

* * *

Emma awoke to a familiar sound. After she had rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she saw the same pigeon from the other day sitting upon the her stomach, clutching the folded slip of paper in its beak. Emma cupped the bird, picking him up and placing him back down on the bed as she stood.

She first went to check the drawers of the end tables, to no avail, before she noticed the desk perpendicular to the extinguished fire. Pulling the drawer open, she smiled fruitfully as she discovered a black swan quill and ink jar.

_'Click, click, click.'_

Right on time, as always. She rushed over to the pigeon and grabbed the crumpled note. Dipping the quill in the well, she scrawled only the word "fine" on the back, put the cap back onto the jar, and threw it and the quill back into the desk. She handed the paper to the bird, and he clamped down on it tightly, flying through the open window just before the door to her room opened.

"Ah good, you're awake," Regina stated suspiciously. Her eyes moved from Emma to the open window, then took a quick inventory of the room. "Time to get to work." She made to leave when she noticed nothing particularly incriminating. Regina could have sworn she heard a coo echo through the tower.

"So I'm supposed to wear this while I work?" Emma asked, gesturing to the now wrinkled yellow gown. This time, she was hoping to get her way with the wardrobe situation. This monstrosity, while the former queen most likely meant no harm with it as it was truly a beautiful dress, was almost painful to wear. Even as the King and Queen's daughter, she didn't own a piece of silk. Her closet at home was filled with simple gowns for casual affairs, one or two formal ones just in case, but otherwise it was all riding pants, comfortable and classic.

"How thoughtful of you to remind me," she said in a honeyed tone. Emma tried to read Regina, all to no avail. She was acting as if that smile last night never happened, but even more, she was either very neutral, or just in a rush to get out of there. The brunette swished her hand about in front of Emma and her body was clothed in the same peasant's gown from yesterday.

"No," Emma protested, looking down at the familiar garment and then back up to the former queen.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not doing this again. I meant something a bit more appropriate for work, like, oh, maybe pants?"

Regina glared at the blonde with piercing daggers. She rolled her eyes dramatically and waved her hand over the Princess once more, giving her form-fitting tan trousers and a brown and white tunic.

"Thank you," Emma stated firmly, stepping toward the Evil Queen as their eyes tackled one another. Regina made no other moves or sounds until she turned to leave and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Emma knew the Evil Queen's change in heart was too good to be true.

* * *

Every time she was in the room with Emma, Regina was reminded of a passion and zest for life so alien to her now. She felt the excitement of first love and the remorse when it was taken away from her. Parental defiance was remembered both painfully and fondly by the former queen, and she felt like she was drowning in emotions that had long-since been buried. It wasn't their similarities she felt caused such ambivalent feelings, but how Emma had so far won her wars, and Regina had lost them when she gave up control over her life. At times, she honestly wanted to be angry with her, for how well she conquered the obstacles that trumped Regina in her youth. Other times, she wanted closeness, to let Emma in and seek comfort in her victories. Wanting that with the daughter of Snow White only infuriated her more, however. But above all, she was scared of how quickly these thoughts and emotions were brought on, leaving her with no idea of how to deal with them.

That was a new emotion she had recently admitted to herself she felt: fear.

Chinks in her armor were never there long. When they occurred, she ironed them out swiftly and continued fighting. Emma created a hole upon her arrival she had been meaning to fix, but never seemed to have the tools to do so. The mirror's words had been echoing over and over in her mind since they were spoken; she was realizing the Princess' big victory was being able to exist independently from her parents' influence. If Cora hadn't been her mother, Regina would have been a vastly different person with a life quite unlike the one she was leading.

"Your heart is somewhere else, Your Majesty."

Regina was drawn back out of her thoughts and ceased her movements against Graham, looking down at him through the darkness. "I could say the same about you," she quipped bitterly, rolling off of the huntsman so she was flat on her back in bed.

"I don't understand why you insist on doing this but end up being so distant," he

"So why do you come when I call you, then?" Regina argued, sitting up to face him.

"Because I have no choice."

Regina panicked as he began to get up to leave. She was losing solace for the same reason she needed it. Her hand clasped his arm, but he shrugged it away coldly. He dressed himself and exited through the door, leaving Regina with racing thoughts and now loneliness, as her one coping mechanism had been taken from her.

* * *

Emma didn't usually consider herself a light sleeper, but since she started living at the palace, specific, mundane noises started waking her up. She was especially trained to wake up at the sound of the Evil Queen's footsteps—and to footsteps she did wake—but this time she heard sounds belonging to a larger shoe, like a boot. The Princess crept out of bed and cracked her door open a sliver.

As the thumping got louder, a shadow began forming on the wall of the tower. She ducked back further into her room, while still keeping her gaze aligned with the opening. A rather young man, not much more than ten years her senior, stopped at her floor, hearing the a creak she had caused in the door. Emma rolled back, instead choosing the small crevice on the hinged side of the door to peer out at him.

He seemed nice enough, but something stirred in the pit of her stomach, seeing the man come down from Regina's chambers. Emma knew not why she cared so much, but it caused an unpleasant flutter in her chest she had to sit down to recover from.


End file.
